Five Fun Days Out with Little Bookworms

The last few weeks seem to have flown by and we are now on school holiday countdown again - hooray! This means that the Mini Reviewers are incredibly excited, while I'm desperately trying to be organised by arranging play dates and holiday activities in advance!  When it comes to keeping the kids entertained during the holidays, I think planning is definitely key and I always like to have a list of possible days out. Now if, like me, you are raising a little bookworm (or three!), hopefully you too will enjoy these ideas for fun days out...



Visit the Room On the Broom Adventure Trail at Anglers Country Park, Wakefield


If your little one is a fan of Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's story, Room on the Broom, then you both may enjoy a visit to the Room on the Broom Adventure Trail in Anglers Country Park, Wakefield. Follow the circular trail from the Visitor Centre and join in activities along the way. There are sculptures and animal footprints to spot and the trail is accessible to buggies and wheelchairs. Parking is free and activity packs are £2 and can be collected from the Visitor Centre. You can find out more here.

Join the Highway Rat on a Forest Adventure (various locations around the UK)


In December 2017 the Forestry Commission launched Highway Rat themed activity trails at various locations around the UK. The trails aim to bring Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler's book to life. There are characters to spot and fun activities to complete along the trail. Activity packs are available for £3 and there are also free printable sheets on the Forestry Commission's website. You can locate your nearest trail here

We have previously had great fun completing the Gruffalo, Superworm and Stickman trails at Dalby Forest, North Yorkshire, so we are looking forward to meeting the Highway Rat very soon. As you can see the original wooden Gruffalo and Gruffalo's child sculptures at Dalby are brilliant too! 

Awaken your Imagination at The Rainbow Factory, Leeds


One of our favourite places to visit is The Rainbow Factory in Leeds. It is a totally unique and interactive storytelling experience aimed at children up to 10 years. We have previously shared our experiences of The Rainbow Factory here but for all the latest information please do visit their website as they have lots of different sessions aimed at different age groups.

Share a Story at Seven Stories, Newcastle


Seven Stories is The National Centre for Children's Books in Newcastle and it is somewhere that we are hoping to visit in 2018. There is a new Early Years exhibition opening at the end of March called Time To Get Up and there is also a really fun sounding range of events for all ages during the Easter holidays, so why not take a peek here?

Play Poohsticks! (various bridges around the UK)


We are currently reading Winnie-the-Pooh as our bedtime story but even before this the Mini Reviewers were unable to walk over a footbridge without flinging a few sticks into the water and declaring someone the winner! Now technically the real Poohstick bridge is in Ashdown Forest, East Sussex (the inspiration for A.A. Milne's 100 Acre Wood) but as this is a little far from us, I decided to try and find the perfect Poohstick bridge a little closer to home and I couldn't believe my luck when I came across Visit England's Guide to the best Poohstick bridges

Why not see if there is a Poohstick bridge near to you? At some point this year we will be off to Hutton-Le-Hole, North Yorkshire to test out bridge number 12 on the list. I think a game of Poohsticks and a Teddy Bear's picnic would make a great Winnie-the-Pooh themed day out.

If you are looking for any reading inspiration why not take a look at our 100 Favourite Picture Books on our Amazon Store (affiliate links).


If you have any other recommendations for bookish days out, please do let us know in the comments below and whatever you get up to in the holidays, 
we hope you have a very Happy Easter!

Until next time... HAPPY READING!

Kate & the Mini Reviewers xx

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10 comments:

  1. I would love to do one of the Julia Donaldson trails. Seven Stories would be on my list too and we had a wonderful time at Edinburgh Book Festival two years ago.

    #ReadWithMe

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  2. Those Julia Donaldson/ Axel Scheffler trails are lovely. We did one with my nephew. I wish they'd been around when my kids were younger. We still play pooh sticks now, although our favourite bridge has got a bit overgrown.

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  3. Oh I want to do all of these!!! Thanks for sharing with #readwithme

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  4. We've always used any bridge as an excuse for Poohsticks. These all sound fab days out #readwithme

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  5. Some great suggestions here, I'm struggling to add to them! I really want to go to the Rainbow Factory but haven't made it yet. We did the Gruffalo trail at Dalby Forest years ago, but to be honest I found that any 'deep, dark wood' was good for retelling their story, we just had to use our imaginations a bit more! #ReadWithMe

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  6. Great ideas to combine a day out and a love of reading. Pooh sticks is always so powerful for making memories too #ReadWithMe

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  7. We did a Gruffalo trail a few years ago at a local wood. KayCee and Ella loved it :)

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  8. Great selection of bookish days out, I love that there is a list of pooh stick bridges too! #Readwithme

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  9. I must take mine to do pooh sticks - such a simple but fun thing to do! I always think there is a Highway Rat trail near me which should be on the list for the summer holidays. #KLTR

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  10. Having done a Gruffalo trail I'm keen to do another one inspired by Julia Donaldson's work. #KLTR

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